Remember the futuristic-but-entirely-peculiar Marine Cool motherboard we pictured at ASUS' booth back at CeBIT in March?
Well, it turns out that the rugged concept will be realised in just a matter of weeks with the launch of the Sabertooth 55i. ASUS' board, pictured below, is to be the first product to emerge from its all-new The Ultimate Force line (a.k.a TUF).
Whilst the board retains its military-style aesthetics, it isn't as cool-looking as the original concept. On the other hand, it does now make a whole lot more sense - put simply, it's a board based on Intel's P55 chipset, designed to operate in extreme conditions.
We're told the board will run happily in temperatures ranging from -10°C to 80°C (we're looking forward to testing those claims), and the Sabertooth 55i's heatsinks are covered in a premium coating that ASUS has dubbed CeraM!X - its uneven ceramic surface promises improved heat dissipation thanks to a 50 per cent larger surface area. On top of that, you'll find that the board's capacitors and MOSFET are certified by a military-standard.
ASUS tells us the board will enter production in the coming weeks, and though there's no mention of pricing, those planning on a rugged Core i5/Core i7-based build can now feel free to plan ahead. Somebody was planning such a build, right?
